Page 286 - The extraordinary leader

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MEASURING LEADERSHIP

IMPROVEMENT AT

GENERAL MILLS

If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.
— Robert Heinlein
Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to
improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If
you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you
can’t improve it.
— H. James Harrington

Case Study: General Mills Building

Great Leaders
General Mills has an international reputation as an excellent place to work,
an admired company, a great corporate citizen, and one of the best-led com-
panies in the world. Every year they receive numerous awards and accolades.
In 2003, Kevin Wilde, the Chief Learning Officer, updated their approach to
leadership development by incorporating the approach and philosophy from
the Extraordinary Leader research into a new development process called
“Building Great Leaders.” Wilde was impressed with messages from the

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